Porter Jr. states he's pain-free after second back surgery

Having undergone a second back surgery, Denver Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. said he is pain-free.

Porter, the 14th overall pick in the draft, told ESPN he hopes to be on the court sometime near the tipoff of the 2018-19 season.

"I finally feel, like, good," he said at the NBA's annual rookie photo shoot Sunday, adding he is hoping to be ready for game action near the time the season begins in mid-October.

"I don't have a date, but I'm hoping to be back for the beginning of the year. Gotta heal up, but I feel great," he continued. "I'm able to get on the court a little bit right now, do something different things. But my rehab has definitely been very conservative. They're really taking it easy with me, being patient with me."

Not for nothing, this is the first time we've seen Michael Porter Jr. comfortably shoot a basketball in quite some time (via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/iEyyEfqATN
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) August 12, 2018

Porter had a microdiscectomy in November 2017 to repair one of two bulging disks in his back. After the Nuggets tabbed the 6-foot-10 forward June 21, had a second surgery on his spine in July. At the time, the Nuggets did not present a timetable for his return to basketball activities.

He made only three appearances during his one season at Missouri because of injuries, which played a part in the once-projected high lottery pick slipping in the draft.

Porter chose to have the second surgical procedure in July with the hopes of alleviating all problems with his back before his rookie season in the NBA began.

"[Doctors originally] only thought one of [the bulging disks] was symptomatic," Porter said. "They went in and fixed that one. Turns out that both were symptomatic.

"So my first surgery helped a lot but didn't fix the entire problem. Now that they did this one, I've got no pain or anything. I'm excited."

Porter also addressed an issue that popped up last week where he liked a comment on an Instagram post that stated fellow rookie Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks was "overrated."

He told ESPN he reached out to Doncic right way, explaining it was an accident. Porter went through the story Sunday while standing right next to Doncic.

"So what's crazy is that blew up," Porter said. "Believe it or not, I'm scrolling through [a post about] the Rookie of the Year odds and I accidentally like a comment. This is the Euroleague MVP and I got nothing but respect for him. I was like, 'Man, I didn't want to come off like that.'

"I reached out to [Doncic], told him it was 100 percent accident and I told him, 'I can't wait to see what you do in the league.' I wasn't worried about what fans thought, but I wanted to let him know instantly. It was 100 percent accident."